So, this debuted today at the Medvedgrad restaurants - they seem to be introducing seasonals. They haven’t bothered with the proper glassware now, but hey. Poured a dark brown-red murky body with a medium sized off white head. Looks legit at least. Sweetish malty nose, clove, apple, light banana. Ok enough. Nicer than expected, definitely fuller than its pale counterpart, some chewed-up bubblegum going in the finish, bready from time to time, clove, light banana. Some tartness sneaks in later on but not enough to complain about. A solid release from Medvedgrad, surprisingly so.

Bottle. Hayz dark amber color with medium beige head. Aroma of roasted malt, caramel, grassy hops. Taste, caramel, some fruits, raisins. Alcohol is well hidden. Light hoppy bitterness in finish.

Bottle. Aroma light caramel, light coffee, light hoppiness. Hazy amber colour. Taste is light caramel, light grassy bitterness. Quite neutral, good balance, nicely hidden body. Thin body. Not bad.

On tap at the brewpub. Served rather warm. Ruby coloured, medium sized stabile pinkish head, pretty weak cherry nose. Bitter sweet cherry taste with notes of yeast and cherry juice. Some metallic notes in the finish. I have to try it colder next time...because so far countess (Grofica) is pretty plain.

Medvedgrad’s first beer ever since they introduced Grička Vještica, way back when in late 2005. That’s a LOT of time. 2005 was the year I moved to Zagreb for studies, 2013 the year that I’ll hopefully get both my Masters’, and that’s with 2 years prolonged because of work and other issues. Kids born in 2005 will be heading off to elementary school now, if they haven’t yet. I rated almost 3500 beers since their last beer was introduced. And that, my friends, is unfortunately the speed at which Croatia’s micro scene has been "developing". 8 years for a new beer. A new beer that hardly follows the world’s micro trends (or at least craft micro trends). But at least they got a new beer out. Most of them haven’t moved one bit from their initial lineups, if they haven’t reduced them... Now that we’ve entered the EU, I hope it gets better. I really do.Now onto the beer. Poured a dark ruby body with a pinkish head. Looks nice, as expected. The head does go away a touch faster than expected, but nothing to complain about. Half expecting an assault of fake cherry I took a strong whiff and... The hell? Dusty yeasty aroma, nearly worty, with some subdued sweet cherry notes, nearly gummibear like but natural seeming in some way. Uh-oh. Maybe it will taste better? No. It starts off with a blast of crude bitterness followed by, well, a genuine sour cherry taste, like you get in cakes. It’s neither sour not sweet, just dull. It’s there, and as such, without any effect. And it’s not refreshing at all. Ugh, I don’t know what to think of it. It’s a genuine attempt at a fruit beer that’s not the overload of sweetness most others are, but they got nearly everything wrong. No off flavors, maybe not even technical flaws, all natural, and yet as unimpressive as you can get with those restraints. I was a bit sad after trying it. I do hope they play with the recipe more, this was just wrong.

Big bottle from my friend Peter B. Many thanks. Dark golden color with small white head. Aroma of wheat, banana, clove. Taste, wheat, banana, clove. Strange aftertaste.

Big bottle from my friend Peter B. Many thanks. dark brown color with thick creamy off-white head. Aroma of dark malt, caramel, dried fruits. Taste, roasted malt, caramel, dark fruits, hints of coffee. licorice, very low hop bitterness, light sourness in finish. Tasty beer.

On tap at Pivnica Mali Medo, Zagreb. Hazy deep golden to orange with a white head. Fruity and lightly yeasty aroma with banana, wheat and hints of honey and hops. Medium body with quite average carbonation. Moderate sweet with some acidity and quite nice flavour and a light bitterness in the finish. Fresh, refreshing and nice! (2013-05-17)

On tap at Pivnica Mali Medo, Zagreb. Slightly hazy ruby with a dense and lasting off-white head. Aroma of malt, caramel, dried fruits and spices with some hoppy notes and a hint of alcohol. Very well balanced. Sweet and quite flavourful with a pleasant bitterness. Nice one! (2013-05-17)

On tap at Pivnica Mali Medo, Zagreb. Clear dark bown with a reddish hue and an off-white head. Aroma of caramel, fruits, malt, dried fruits, some hoppy notes and hints of yeast and roast. Moderate sweet with a light acidity and a balanced bitterness. Quite decent and well balanced. (2013-05-17)